Chrysalis Academy Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 What's yours? Of course by film I include filmed stage productions, BBC, made for TV movie, etc. . . . Macbeth is the Shakespeare that Shannon's theater company will perform this year! She's over the moon. They are also doing The Hobbit, which we just read, so she is in theatrical heaven. We're going to get our critic's claws out and compare as many great and not-so-great performances of Macbeth as we can find. I'd love to hear about any you've loved or hated, and why . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Well, actually I love Akira Kurasawa's samurai version (Shakespeare's basic story, but not his words), Throne of Blood (1957, black & white). :) The film is full of Japanese Noh Theater elements, which could be interesting as a side study to your theater buff. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I think the only one I've watched is the one with Patrick Stewart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Well, actually I love Akira Kurasawa's samurai version (Shakespeare's basic story, but not his words), Throne of Blood (1957, black & white). :) The film is full of Japanese Noh Theater elements, which could be interesting as a side study to your theater buff. :) Oh sweet! This came up on my library search for Macbeth versions, which I totally didn't get . . . but I'm glad to read this link!! We'll definitely check this out. We really, really love exploring different flim and theatrical interpretations of an original story. I also found a cool book by Fiona Watson on a true history of Macbeth - I think that will be fun to read, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 I think the only one I've watched is the one with Patrick Stewart. Did you like it? I do adore Patrick Stewart, which dates me . . . I watched every single episode of Star Trek The Next Generation as it came out . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I love the Stewart version, but depending on your dd, it might be a little disturbing. The setting is early modern and the acting is great. But the imagery is definitely not early 17th century. It is pretty dark and the witches are nightmare worthy. (Well, if you have nurse phobia!) Depends on the 7th grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Hmm, good to know. I will definitely have to preview and plan for watching when the 3rd grader is out of the house! This is always tricky to pull off, now that Shannon is ready to watch things Morgan definitely isn't ready for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Dd just reminded me that she was in 7th grade when she watched it. Ah well, so much for my memory. I can't see my current 7th grader watching it, but she is a much "younger" (in personality) 7th grader. Definitely watch it before making the decision that it is ok for Morgan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 Yeah, Morgan isn't a big fan of tragedy!! Much less creepy nurses. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I like the Stewart version, but it's definitely disturbing. For students I don't love any of them, honestly. When I was staging the play with kids, I had them watch the opening scene from three different versions in order to get a feel for how differently it can be presented. Unlike when I was staging other Shakespeare plays, I didn't suggest or recommend that the older kids try to see a film version. I did suggest the younger students could watch the BBC Animated Tales one, but I didn't even like that - it's one of my least favorites of the Animated Tales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I've only seen clips on YouTube, but you might try the 1983 TV version. The BBC staged all the plays as a series at that time, and videotaped them. The sets are fairly minimal, and they are staged to seem much closer to a play than a film. All of that works toward reducing the bloody/dark aspects of Macbeth. It looks like you can see most/all of the play on YouTube in 5 minute chunks through: the scottish play_clip1.avi (and then clip 2, clip 3, clip 4…) Clip 1 has the witches, and clip 7/8 bracket the murder, if you wanted to preview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pen Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 If you come up with one you love, please post it. Macbeth was a favorite play seen live locally, but none of what we tried on film seemed anywhere near as good as even our very amateur local production in terms of keeping interest and attention compared to the live play with the actors bringing the "woods" sneaking around the back of, and then down through the audience, also the witches moving through the audience and stealing things from picnics, the bigness of sword fighting up close and so on. We tried a lot including the Patrick Stewart one, but had not known about Kurosawa. I wanted to have ds see a Kurosawa film anyway, so I think we will give that a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 The Patrick Stewart version is the best Macbeth I have seen period. But, then when I think about it, it is only version I haven't seen live. I don't think I have seen any other recorded Macbeth. Huh, I never really noticed that before, lol. And it is not for sensitive watchers. Hmm... if your kid can watch... let's say the Lord of the Rings movies ? or are regular watchers of PG-13 films then I think the Patrick Stewart Macbeth would be ok. There isn't really gore in the Macbeth, well, no more than usual, but the witches scared the daylights out of me. They were freaky! You can stream it here: http://video.pbs.org/video/1604122998/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Ok, I am totally striking out with Mabeth! The Patrick Stewart/BBC version is excellent, but way too bloody & disturbing for Morgan and borderline for Shannon. The Ian McKellan version (Royal Shakespeare, they filmed it) is way too minimalist to hold their attention. I have the Roman Polanski version, and have watched the beginning, which seems good but I read that it is super bloody and also the relationship of M & Lady M is very hot and heavy, and Macbeth is portrayed without much subtlety. So I don't know that it will work. The TV version with Jason Connery starts out very bloody and lame. We will definitely watch the Shakespeare Uncovered episode where Ethan Hawke talks about learning to portray Macbeth. I wish there was a film version of his stage performance! So . . . I'm not sure what to do. We've read the summary, maybe we will just dive in and try to read it? Anybody have success reading a play with a kid this age that you hadn't watched first? Honestly, Macbeth wouldn't be my first choice to do with a 12 year old, the reason we are doing it now is because the theater company is planning on doing it this spring. But the more I delve into the play the more I think the director is making a mistake - this is not exactly Shakespeare's most accessible play, and I have a hard time seeing a group of 10-16 year olds pulling it off. They did very well with Midsummer, but I'd much rather see them tackle one of the comedies again. Oh well. Any advice on studying Macbeth would be most welcome! I'm really enjoying it, I've read a bunch of lit crit and discussions, and so none of the prep time is wasted, I'm just not sure how to go about teaching it successfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Well, MacBeth was the first Shakespeare play my older son saw. I took him and his friend and they were both recently 10 at the time. Their preparation consisted of my reading the wiki page about the play to them about 1 hour before we left to see it. I did go over the plot a bit in the car and a couple of times I hissed plot points in their ears during the play. They both told me they had no problem following the plot and understood everything and wanted to know why I made such a big deal about it.So, maybe you could teach another Shakespeare play that you think is more approachable and study that and then just go see MacBeth when it is performed? Would that work? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 If it was just going to see the play, I'd agree with you 100%! But her theater company will be putting it on, and she'll be auditioning for a role, so we both thought it would be good to have a deeper understanding of the play, and to read it, first (Of course she will be the only kid in the troop to have done so, probably). I think we might just read it and discuss it, act by act, and for each act I will find several online clips of the big scenes/soliloquys. That might work. The Shakespeare Uncovered episode is great, because it is narrated by an actor trying to figure out how to play the role. There is also a YouTube clip of Ian McKellan discussing the Tomorrow solliloquy which she will really dig. The acting angle is our entre into the play, for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Ok, I am totally striking out with Mabeth! Is the 1983 TV version not workable? Your library may have the DVD set as part of that huge collection of all the plays videotaped back in the early '80s -- or you watch the play on YouTube in 5 minute chunks through a search for: "the scottish play_clip1.avi" (and then clip 2, clip 3, clip 4…). How about the 30 min. Animated Shakespeare version? (At Awesome Stories website, with some background info. Or on Vimeo in three 10-minute sections: part 1, part 2, part 3.) Definitely avoid the Polanski version -- it is the first movie he made after the bloody knife slaying of his wife Sharon Tate who was the victim in one of the Manson murders. You can imagine he was working out some of his shock and trauma on the screen… :( So . . . I'm not sure what to do. We've read the summary, maybe we will just dive in and try to read it? Anybody have success reading a play with a kid this age that you hadn't watched first? … Any advice on studying Macbeth would be most welcome! Well, they are boys, not girls, and DSs were in high school, not elementary and middle school, but Macbeth is the one Shakespeare play we only read without seeing a version, and it went over quite successfully here. We used the Parallel Shakespeare materials (mostly the student workbook and teacher guide). And then we watched Throne of Blood (which is Kurasawa's black & white samurai version -- it is the story but not the dialogue). How we did it: we read a section a day out loud as "reader theater" -- just figured out how many roles appeared in the scene(s) we were doing, and divided that amongst ourselves. (If you buy the parallel Shakespeare actual text, or use the free online Sparknotes No Fear Shakespeare, you'll have side-by-side modern translation and original language, and you can have your younger daughter participate too, and let her read the modern translation.) Then we went over some of the parallel Shakespeare guide aloud together and discussed, and every 2-3 days or so I would have DSs do something out of the student workbook that matched up with the readings. The Parallel Shakespeare materials are designed for middle school and up, so a good teaching match for your older DD. Worked great for us! We enjoyed the play as a great piece of literature. It's a shorter play, with clear "loud" choices and actions (as to being a more "internal" or "psychological" play like Hamlet). Of course, DSs were older when we did it -- probably 9th/10th grades, rather than your younger grades... Honestly, Macbeth wouldn't be my first choice to do with a 12 year old, the reason we are doing it now is because the theater company is planning on doing it this spring. But the more I delve into the play the more I think the director is making a mistake - this is not exactly Shakespeare's most accessible play, and I have a hard time seeing a group of 10-16 year olds pulling it off. They did very well with Midsummer, but I'd much rather see them tackle one of the comedies again. Oh well. Totally agree about sticking with the comedies for middle school productions. :) JMO: While Macbeth certainly wouldn't be my choice for middle schoolers to put on a production (due to the bloody aspect which some parents might not like), for doing it in our homeschool setting and only reading it as a piece of literature, I actually thought it was much more accessible and straight forward in choices, consequences, and theme than some of the other tragedies, such as King Lear -- or Hamlet, which is much more intricate, subtle, psychological and complex. JMO! But then, tragedies are overall deeper and more complex than comedies. :) BEST of luck in coming to a workable plan! Warmest regards, Lori D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Lori, Thank you!!! This is what we will do. I have Parallel Shakespeare from the library, so we have multiple copies of the play, and the girls will enjoy a reader's theater style. I also have the Walch discussion guide. I will check out the Animated clips. The 1983 TV version didn't impress me - I just watched the beginning, but I liked it even less than the beginning of Polanski's. Thanks for the warning on that one! I hadn't gotten to watching the later parts yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I directed it two years ago with a group ages 8-12 more or less and we took our mini-version to the Folger Children's Festival, which was fun. I do think it's a good one for kids. The moral questions are all really straightforward in a way - much more so than Hamlet or Othello or any of the other "big" tragedies anyway. The violence can be over the top, but it doesn't have to be done that way. It's creepy but I think that appeals to a lot of kids. The themes about fate and so forth find a lot of echos in modern scifi and fantasy that's really popular so I think there's good conversations to be had around those. There's a twist at the end. There's some great speeches. I think it's accessible and easier to understand for this age. Of course, they'll understand it on a completely different level down the road, but I think of the non-comedies that you might do with children, it's the one to do. Also, I mean, the scene where the kids do their version in Slings and Arrows is pretty funny to me. Maybe I just didn't take Mackers seriously enough. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Thanks for that perspective, Farrar. I agree it's great for discussion - we've already had some great ones on the free will vs. fate thing. I guess I just have to have faith that the director knows what he is doing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariaT Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 The Folger's Shakespeare Library filmed a stage version that was created by Teller (of Penn and Teller) and another guy. You get the audience reaction, and a great sense of both the staging and the characterizations. Also, it has a lot of stage magic! And there is a feature at the end that explains a little of how they came to create this version. There is ALOT of stage blood, but it is clearly on a stage, so it is clearly fake. I like it ALOT because it finds the humor in the play. This is the first version where the Porter Scene is actually funny. There is a lot of stage fighting, and it is very exciting. The only way I could get it was to order the particular book version that has the dvd glued inside the cover. http://shop.folger.edu/store/003511!003/Macbeth%3A++The+DVD+Edition I really like the Patrick Stewart version--he makes Macbeth really awful in a Stalinist/Hitler way. The banquet scene is frightening for the way they heighten the terror of the tyrant. I loved how the witches' scene comes second, after the opening. They invented a lot more violence, and while I thought it was very effective, I'm not showing the whole thing to my Shake class of 10-14 yos. I'm showing the Teller version at our Macbeth movie night. I think they'll love it. Maria Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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